In a communication network, a network element is involved in directing network traffic toward its intended destination. Since network traffic can be very dynamic, the environment within a network element is typically also very dynamic. For example, at various times during the operation of the network element, new connections are established, existing connections are maintained, and old connections are released. Occasionally, it is desirable to upgrade the switching fabric within the network element. However, it is typically difficult to reconfigure the network element without adversely affecting the network traffic passing through the network element. Therefore, some loss of data typically occurs when connections are dropped during an attempt to upgrade a network element. Thus, it is desirable to provide the ability to perform an in-service upgrade of a switching fabric in a network element without loss of data.